St. Thomas More

Welcome to St. Tom's,
the home of Catholic Campus Ministry in Kalamazoo

Welcome, college students – new and returning! St. Tom’s is here to serve you during your college years. We hope you’ll join us for Sunday Mass often, and participate as Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Servers, Musicians, Mass Coordinators – there are many ways to be involved during Mass.

To accommodate the increased population when students return, we add a Mass into our weekend schedule. The Sunday 5:30 pm Mass begins again next weekend, Sept. 12.  It is followed by a FREE home cooked Sunday Supper, prepared and served by permanent residents. All college students and young adults are invited to join us for dinner between 6:30 and 7:00 pm every Sunday after the 5:30 Mass.

Though we are close to campus, the walk from many residence halls is pretty lengthy – not bad in good weather, but when the snow flies, it’s not fun. So, we send our St. Tom’s white van up to campus – to the 3 valleys and the Bernhard Center on Sunday evenings – before and after the 5:30 and 7:30 Masses – to pick you up and take you back to campus.  

In addition to Mass on the weekends, we invite you to join us on Wednesday evenings for More at Midweek. We begin around 7:00 with quiet prayer in the church. About 7:30 we begin praise and worship – singing, praying with the upcoming Sunday’s readings and faith sharing. Around 8:15 we enjoy free pizza and pop as we get to know one another in a relaxed setting. Pizza is followed by a student-focused event, activity, or presentation. Each month, we try to do one week focused on Catholic identity, one week on a “hot topic” - yeah, we don’t shy away from the difficult discussions, one week on an outreach or service project, and one week doing something that’s just plain fun. Come for all or part of the evening as your time and schedule allow.

We also have a college student weekend retreat in the fall and in the spring, planned and presented by college students. Save Nov. 12-14 for our fall retreat.

Many of our student activities are planned and organized by our Student Ministry Team, college students who serve in a leadership position and help shape the ministries that enrich your lives. You’ll meet our Student Ministry Team members here and at Bronco Bash, and around campus.

In addition to our college populations – students, staff, administrators, and many faculty, we also have a parish population of about 700 registered families, who provide the financial support for our many programs and offerings.  Our “permanent residents” – because they live here year round – are here to serve you too.

We hope you’ll find St. Tom’s to be a home away from home – a safe place to grow in your faith, to wrestle with life’s issues, to increase your love for Jesus and one another, to grow in knowledge, wisdom and grace – and to challenge us too. Welcome to Kalamazoo and to St. Tom’s

~~ TAKE A LOOK AT
WHAT'S HAPPENING~~
This weekend, we'll continue to register college students and invite the permanent residents to update your involvement forms for this year. This information helps us adjust our programming to your needs and interests, and to keep you informed about upcoming events in which you expressed an interest.
Monday evenings: 6:00 - 6:45 Meditation and Centering Prayer in the Bronco Room. Come for some peace and quiet!
Liturgical Ministers Schedules - Click here then on the date you wish to see.
Religious Education - News about registration for the fall Religious Education Program.

This week's Mass Schedule

St. Tom's is also a family parish with more than 750 registered parishioners, whose mission is to serve the college communities. All are welcome to worship with us, to become part of our faith community.  St. Thomas More is the Catholic  Campus Ministry parish in the Kalamazoo area. We are a full fledged parish with registered families, known as permanent residents,  and several hundred college students, as well as faculty and staff from:
         Kalamazoo College,
        Western Michigan University,
         Kalamazoo Valley Community College,
         Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies,  
         and Davenport University
         in the Kalamazoo area

Decorating cakes in our kitchen

Our Mission Statement reads:
We, the people of St. Thomas More Parish, gifted and led by the Holy Spirit, are called to build up the Kingdom of God among the college communities of Kalamazoo. Diverse, yet one, we are called to be the Body of Christ, to praise and worship our heavenly Father, to proclaim God's Word, to love and serve others, especially the poor and neglected. We welcome into our parish family all who wish to share in this mission.